Fighting commotion after the broadcast on Thursday August 20 of very harsh images filmed by L214 in a duck farm in Lichos (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). The public authorities immediately reacted: “Veterinary checks were carried out as soon as we were notified. There was a team from Wednesday and another this Thursday, ”says the secretary general of the prefecture of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Eddie Bouttera.
While this video that we revealed shows an unsanitary building, decomposed animal corpses, floods of excrement, the inspectors of the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of the Populations noted 20 cm of dejection, damage to buildings and cages. , but neither corpses nor maggots. Could the owners have got rid of this rubbish or could it be a staging of the animal rights association? "We know absolutely nothing about it", we reply to the prefecture.
VIDEO. L214: the new shocking images in a duck farm
The situation on the spot was in any case considered sufficiently serious for the farm to be "put on notice" to remove the ducks from the workshop and have them examined by veterinarians. Another action to take immediately: pump the slurry. "We are taking a decree to cease all activity in the building concerned," adds Eddie Bouttera. "We will only authorize the reopening if the necessary work is done and if the operator can prove that he is capable of respecting animal welfare," insists the secretary general of the prefecture.
A measure too timid for L214
A measure far too timid for the association L214 according to which "it is scandalous that only this building is closed and that the breeder is still authorized to work animals", protests Barbara Boyer, spokesperson for the association . The Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie specified in the morning that in parallel, a legal procedure was opened, depending on its outcome, the operation could ultimately be closed. The PGI (protected geographical indication) “ducks with foie gras from the South-West”, for its part, “immediately suspends breeding” as a precaution.
While we could not contact any manager of the company on Wednesday, a co-owner of this "family" farm told AFP on Thursday that the association's video was "false, deceptive and dishonest". The young woman just conceded that "on the outside, the slurry that spills out is the truth". And to announce a complaint for "defamation and breaking and entering" against L214.
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The spokesperson for the association Barbara Boyer laughs at this “classic defense of cornered farms when their videos are broadcast. As usual, we brought all the evidence to the prosecutor, ”she added calmly. The lawyer of the association has indeed filed a complaint in Pau for "cruelty to animals" and "abandonment".